Villa stay calm amid title talk, says Emery

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery called for calm in any talk of his side winning the Premier League after they beat Newcastle.

Villa moved level on points with Manchester City after a fine win in the north east but Emery is refusing to be carried away.

He said: “Next week we are playing against Brentford at home. Last week we lost and last week, no-one asked me about contenders for the title.

“We lost against Everton, ‘No, not now’; and we are winning today, ‘Yes now’.

“Okay, calm. Keep balance is the only objective I have in my mind, and the only way I know is work every day and if you are performing consistently, maybe you can better and maybe on day 35, we can speak differently.

“Of course, we are competing against Arsenal, we are competing against Manchester City, we are competing against Chelsea, we are competing against Liverpool, we are competing against Newcastle, against Tottenham…Wow, the power they have.

“But we are competing and we are there, We are getting points.”

Villa did face a blow with the news that midfielder John McGinn could face up to two months on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Emery said: “My experience with Aston Villa here last year was horrible.

“We are so, so happy, so proud of the work we did because after we lost against Everton, we needed to react like we did on Thursday. Firstly – it was very important on Thursday against Fenerbahce – and today.”